We Take Quality Control Seriously.
While you might agree that strict quality control is critical in manufacturing cars or pharmaceuticals, you might not realize just how important it is in a coffee roastery. At least, not until you think about your first sip of the day.
That’s why at Burwell Beans, we use a stringent quality control process. We want to make sure you experience some of the best specialty coffee available, with consistent excellence, day after day.
“Specialty Coffee” is a unique designation used by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Their protocols are based on its system for evaluating coffee once it has been brewed with water.
Using a 100-point scale, the SCA rates the coffee on sensory categories
- Fragrance (dry coffee grounds),
- Aroma (once bloomed and wet)
- Sweetness
- Acidity
- Flavor
- Aftertaste (mouthfeel)
- Body
- Balance in the cup
- Any identified defects.
Coffee receiving a score above 80 is termed as “specialty,” while coffee scoring lower than 80 is termed “commodity coffee.”
At Burwell Beans, we take pride in not only following SCA protocols, but also in adding our own steps. This helps to maintain standards and meet your high expectations.
It Starts With The Bean.
We source our beans from select, dedicated farmers, in environments that naturally support beans with outstanding flavor characteristics. On arrival at our roastery, the beans are checked to ensure they are free of defects and in perfect condition to roast. We measure and record the moisture and density of the beans to monitor any variances during storage.
After each unique small-batch roast, we “cup” (taste) the coffee against SCA protocols, to make sure your coffee is exactly what we intended.
Our beans are hand sorted and each bag filled manually, to ensure you get the best coffee every time.
In addition, we use the newest technology to maintain repeatable roasting conditions. Furthermore we monitor each roast in real time, and use the “cup test” to evaluate final taste.